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New Member FAQ

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Quick Index:

1) How do I post messages on the forums?
2) Why do I receive an error message when I try to post URLs and/or email addresses in my messages?
3) Why was my thread/post locked, deleted, moved, or retitled?
4) There are a lot of forums, so which forum should I use for posting my new thread?
5) How do I stop unwanted SPAM that's coming to me from this website?
6) Why do I sometimes get logged out of the forums prematurely?
7) How do I edit my user profile?
8) How do I add a signature to my user profile?
9) How do I include a homepage link in my member profile?
10) Why don't all of the posts that I've made show up under my posts count total?
11) How do I use BB code in my messages when I post, such as code tags, image tags, and others?
12) How do I mark my own threads "SOLVED" once they have been?
13) Why can't I edit my own post, or thread title?
14) Why was the thread that I replied to suddenly locked?
15) Why can't I create a poll in my new thread?
16) What should I do if I've posted my message in the wrong forum?
17) How can I find all of my own posts/threads?
18) How do I subscribe to threads, or unsubscribe from them?
19) Where can I post HowTo articles or scripts that I've written for the benefit of others?
20) How do I report spam or other posts that need the attention of a forum moderator or administrator?
21) How do I create social groups, personal photo albums, and visitor messages?
22) How can I delete my user account?
23) Why has my user account been banned?
24) How can I change my username?
25) What do the user titles directly under our usernames mean?
26) Where can I request that new features or additional forums be added to the website?
27) What can I do should I disagree with a decision that has been made by one of the forum administrators?
28) How can I become a forum moderator here at LinuxForums.org?
29) Where can I find and read the Privacy Policy that's in place for this website?
30) How do I contact one of the forum administrators?

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1) How do I post messages on the forums?

Please check this HowTo for complete instructions on starting your own help request thread.

2) Why do I receive an error message when I try to post URLs and/or email addresses in my messages?

To help keep spammers at bay, new members are not allowed to post URLs within their messages until they have made at least 15 posts. Users that come in and post a flurry of meaningless messages in order to get 15 posts registered will be banned as spammers. Legitimate posters can usually edit out or change any of the following character sets (or insert spaces into them) found within their posts as a temporary work around:

http
www
ftp
@

* Note that even a single "@" sign/symbol may keep a user from posting their message.

3) Why was my thread/post locked, deleted, moved, or retitled?

If your thread or post violated the forum rules, it was probably locked or deleted by one of the forum admins without any further warning. Please recheck the forum rules before posting again. If your thread was moved or retitled, it was done by one of the forum admins to provide better exposure for your thread and/or to help maintain proper order for the posting of threads.

4) There are a lot of forums, so which forum should I use for posting my new thread?

Be sure to check the forum descriptions under the title of each forum and post your thread accordingly. If you are still confused, the following guidelines will generally apply:

All announcements, general discussion, new member intros, off-topic items, jokes, book requests, etc, go in the Coffee Lounge Forum (except for LinuxForums.org News, which has its own forum).

All Linux related "help requests" go in their respective Help Forum, while any Windows related help requests should go in the Coffee Lounge. HowTo articles (tutorials) should be posted in the Articles section of the website since they are not help requests. HowTo articles that get posted within the help forums may be moved later by a board admin to the Linux Tutorials, HOWTO's & Reference Material Forum, or to the Coffee Lounge Forum, as deemed appropriate.

Posts that include offers of compensation for products or services rendered, or posts soliciting compensation for products or services rendered are considered classified ads (SPAM) and don't belong on the forums at all. Please check the Jobs section of this website to see if your post fits there, or check a different website for such transactions.

Only help request threads go in the "help forums". Those threads consisting of announcements, general observations, or rants go in the Coffee Lounge. Linux threads can always be moved to a help forum if and when they should turn into actual help request threads. As a general rule, if the poster isn't asking for help, or offering help to someone who is, it's not a help request thread.

5) How do I stop unwanted SPAM that's coming to me from this website?

Thread Spam by PM/Email: If you are getting emails and/or PMs regarding threads that you've subscribed to, you can remove those subscriptions from within your user control panel, or you can remove them at the thread level by using the Thread Tools option found in the blue navigation bar that runs across the top of text box for each thread.

Newsletter Spam Emails: If you are receiving newsletters that you no longer want, you can unsubscribe by clicking the appropriate link in any of the newsletters that you receive and if that doesn't work, please use the Contact Us link found in the lower-left corner of this page and other pages on the site to contact the site owners.

PM/Email Spam from other users: If another user is spamming you by PM or email, you can contact any forum admin, supermoderator, or trusted penguin with the details and include a copy of the spam that you are reporting.

6) Why do I sometimes get logged out of the forums prematurely?

The forums keep users logged in for approximately 20 minutes, which should be plenty of time to post the kinds of messages intended for these forums. To avoid getting logged out during a session, check the "Remember Me?" check-box just to the right of the login screen when logging in.

You must have made at least 100 posts on the forums before a signature is allowed in your user profile. This modification was implemented as an additional anti-spam effort. The forum software will automatically upgrade your user level to allow for a signature once you've made 100 posts. The intentional spamming of the forums with posts of no relative value in order to gain the required 100 posts is not allowed.

9) How do I include a homepage link in my member profile?

Due to repeated abuse by spammers, homepage links in user profiles have been disabled for users that have made less than 100 posts on the forums.

10) Why don't all of the posts that I've made show up under my posts count total?

Messages posted in the Coffee Lounge do not count toward a user's total posts count.

11) How do I use BB code in my messages when I post, such as code tags, image tags, and others?

Instructions for using BB code and all the different tags available to you in your posted messages can be found here. Be sure to click on each individual tag for additional detailed information about using them.

12) How do I mark my own threads "SOLVED" once they have been?

On the blue bar that runs across the top of the text box for each thread, you'll find the Thread Tools drop-down box that offers the option to "Mark this thread as solved". If you have already marked a thread as solved, the same drop-down box gives the option to mark the thread as unsolved, which removes the [SOLVED] tag should that action be needed. Note that marking a thread solved auto-locks the thread and marking it unsolved unlocks it.

13) Why can't I edit my own post, or thread title?

The title of your thread can be edited for up to 20 minutes after posting. The content of your post can be edited for up to 24 hours after posting. After that, only forum administrators can edit your post.

14) Why was the thread that I replied to suddenly locked?

We try to keep all discussions on the forums fresh, so threads that have been reactivated after a long period of inactivity are usually locked by the forum admins. Please feel free to start a new thread of your own describing in detail any issues that you are having with Linux, or with your computer hardware.

15) Why can't I create a poll in my new thread?

The forums have been configured so that users that have made less than 100 posts can not add a poll to their thread. The intentional spamming of the forums with posts of no relative value in order to gain the required 100 posts is not allowed.

16) What should I do if I've posted my message in the wrong forum?

You can use the Report Post button that resides at the bottom of the Username field found at the left of your posts. Another option is to send a Private Message to one of the forum Trusted Penguins, or Moderators.

17) How can I find all of my own posts/threads?

You can click on your username then choose Statistics, then choose Find all posts or Find all threads. Another method of finding all of your posts is to do an Advanced Search and choose to find all posts by your username.

18) How do I subscribe to threads, or unsubscribe from them?

Go to your User Control Panel / Edit Options / Default Thread Subscription Mode then make your choice from the options available. You can also subscribe or unsubscribe at the individual thread level by clicking the Thread Tools link that resides in the dark blue bar running across the top of the text box on the first post of any thread.

19) Where can I post HowTo articles or scripts that I've written for the benefit of others?

You can post your HowTo articles in the Articles section of the website. It's okay, to include a link to your website at the bottom of your HowTo.

20) How do I report spam or other posts that need the attention of a forum moderator or administrator?

The Report Post Button is the small black triangle located in the username field on the left side of each post, just under the username of the person that made the post. After a post has been properly reported, one of our forum administrators will look at the reported post as soon as possible, and make a decision about how to handle the matter. Only those reported threads/posts that are in violation of our forum rules, or otherwise deemed inappropriate and needing attention will be edited, closed, or removed by the forum admins.

21) How do I create social groups, personal photo albums, and visitor messages?

You must have made at least 100 posts on the forums before the option to create social groups, photo albums, or visitor messages will show up in your user control panel. The forum software will automatically upgrade your user level so that you can create them once you've made 100 posts. The intentional spamming of the forums with posts of no relative value in order to gain the required 100 posts is not allowed. Please note that social groups, photo albums, or visitor messages deemed to be spam-oriented, inappropriate, or inactive (creator hasn't logged in for more than 12 months) may be deleted by the forum admins without further notice.

22) How can I delete my user account?

Only those forum administrators above the position of Super Moderator have the forum permissions needed to delete accounts. If you haven't made any posts, your account may be deleted upon request. If you have posted and others have replied, your account will not be deleted because doing so would disrupt the flow of any discussion taking place, plus your account needs to remain intact for various legal reasons.

23) Why has my user account been banned?

If you've violated the forum rules, your user account may have been banned by one of the forum administrators without any further warning. Please recheck the forum rules before creating another user account.

24) How can I change my username?

Username change requests are generally not granted unless you have made less than 10 posts, or you have created a username that is in violation of the forum rules. Only those forum administrators above the position of Super Moderator have the forum permissions required to alter forum usernames.

25) What do the user titles directly under our usernames mean?

Those are user rankings. They don't mean much, other than to show a certain level of posts made on our forums. You can read more information about the way user rankings work on the forums here.

26) Where can I request that new features or additional forums be added to the website?

You can make your request in the Feedback/Suggestions Forum, but be on notice that new features and additional forums are added only if it should be determined by the board administrators that there is a real need for them. Otherwise, the site can quickly become too unwieldy to maintain and manage.

27) What can I do should I disagree with a decision that has been made by one of the forum administrators?

As indicated in the Forum Rules, all decisions made by the board administrators (admins, moderators, and trusted penguins) are final. We ask that you show respect toward our board admins because they are volunteers performing what can be a very difficult task at times. Do NOT start threads or post on the forums complaining about the actions of any board administrator. If you don't agree with any action that has been taken, feel free to contact any of the board admins by private message or email, or you can use the Contact Us link on the lower-left corner of all webpages on the site.

28) How can I become a forum moderator here at LinuxForums.org?

Our moderators are appointed to their positions after being voted on by the other current forum administrators. All of our moderators come from our pool of Trusted Penguins who have gained that status by being nominated then voted on by our current forum admins. You can find out more about our different forum ranks and positions by looking here.

29) Where can I find and read the Privacy Policy that's in place for this website?

The LinuxForums.org Privacy Policy can be found on the right side of the blue nav-bar running across the bottom of each web page.

30) How do I contact one of the forum administrators?

You can contact the various board admins by going to the Forums Leaders page and clicking on the SEND PM (private message) or EMAIL button, or you can use the Contact Us link found in the lower-left corner of each LinuxForums.org webpage.

For additional questions and information about using the vBulletin software, check the FAQ.